


With Wild Horses Running Through Your Hollow Bones

by EvenWith8Hands



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Happy Ending, Nomad V (Cyberpunk 2077), Spoilers for like the whole game, V can't drive whatsoever, a slow burn so slow that its.. slow, alcohol consumption, alternative universe, but not a lot so, everyone: V ur hot an' all but.. ur kinda.. stupid, generally everyone's having fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28491210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvenWith8Hands/pseuds/EvenWith8Hands
Summary: “Hear about those two fools who took Suzie’s gig?”AU. Judy and V meet under slightly different circumstances, and a little earlier. Bits and pieces of V’s journey through Judy’s eyes.
Relationships: Judy Alvarez/Female V
Comments: 31
Kudos: 321





	With Wild Horses Running Through Your Hollow Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been FERAL after finishing cyberpunk… my favorite thing was that I absolutely was bad at driving in this game so I without fail got a POLICE WARRANT ISSUED every time I stepped into a car because I ran over pedestrians :’( Anyway changed things/details in the canon bc I can hehe If there are any mistakes… do the right thing and not notice them im practicing this new thing called 'barely editing' and it really feels great.

Suzie hired a merc. Two, actually.

It wasn’t unheard of, but it was a sign that the Mox were getting a little desperate. She basically just showed their absolute shit hand to everyone in Night City’s radius. Great.

Evelyn took a drag of her cigarette.

“Hear about those two fools who took Suzie’s gig?”

Judy nodded, scrunching up her nose as soon as the smoke drifted towards her face, she set down her portable wreath to look at her.

“You know I don’t get good ventilation in here, Ev.”

Evelyn took one last drag before flicking it on the ground and rubbing it in with the sole of her heel, the embers quickly dying out on the concrete.

“Anyway, they’ll be here in five. Just a heads up in case,” Evelyn shrugged, “you find yourself curious?”

Judy scoffed and went back to work on the wreath. “I’m sure everyone’ll be talkin’ ‘bout it anyway.” She squinted at a dead LED bulb on the left light fold. “Why are they even comin’ here? Isn’t that what fixers are for?”

“We can’t exactly afford them,” Evelyn started to fix her bangs using her cigarette case as a mirror. “So, our fixer offered some sort of off-the-books negotiations. You know how it goes.”

Frowning, Judy held her tongue. ‘Cause no, she didn’t know how this shit worked. She didn’t really know what to expect, either. Two guys maybe? Possibly with dick insecurities?

“I’ll be up top, where there are these _vents_ that you so wish for.” Evelyn waggled her eyebrows.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll check ‘em out when I get a minute.”

Evelyn’s heels clicked up the stairs and Judy was left to her broke as fuck BD wreath.

She rolled her eyes. “Fuuccckk.”

Judy tossed the wreath back on her desk as she got up to see the absolute fuck show that was about to walk into the bar.

* * *

This man— probably as tall as the doorframe she was leaning on and could likely snap her in two, was laughing with his hands on his stomach. He was leaning back for effect and slapped the person sitting next to him on the back.

This guy had to be it, she thought. All muscle and leather. But the one next to him receiving what looked like the world’s most painful back slap? Looked like some drunk regular in a suit as usual. Shouldn’t there be another one?

The suit started getting red in the face and stabbed his index finger right on the big man’s chest. Judy had half a mind to start hiding behind the bar in case—

Someone came out from behind the big man, a woman? Her hands were up in a placating gesture and her mouth was moving at a rapid pace in what looked like a string of apologies.

Judy spotted the end of a shoulder holster underneath the woman’s cropped jacket. Shit, a gun that size? She wasn’t the one that needed to be apologizing.

The suit went from ballistic to just plain old annoyed in just a few seconds.

Huh. Okay, yeah. She did find herself curious. Fuckin’ Ev.

The two made their way to towards the bar, the big one stumbled over the overfloor cord protector and the woman tried her best to keep upright as he grasped at her shoulders for balance.

Judy sighed. Scratch that on the badass thing. She supposed this was entertaining enough— but jeez, could they seriously not bid for people that weren’t clowns?

Her eyes flicked over to where Suzie was waving them down.

She needed a drink.

* * *

Judy waltzed over to the meeting feeling particularly buzzed (it’s not like anyone was keeping tabs on her work ethic, anyway) and she leaned on the wall nearest to her to try to catch up in the conversation.

The man (Tweedledee, Judy thought) sat a little straighter before adjusting the jacket around him. “As for payment? Fixer said—”

Evelyn smiled at him. “I believe you’re aware of our services.”

The two mercs looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

The woman (Tweedledum, why not) finally decided to speak. “Really?”

“Yes. You still have to follow all the rules, though.”

Tweedledee held up his hands. “’Course, ‘course.”

Tweedledum looked sheepish. “Wait, can you go over those?”

He elbowed her in response.

Evelyn leaned back into her seat. “For Brain Dances, just don’t break our shit. Our technician would probably kill you.”

They both froze up. Judy had to keep herself from outright smiling at the statement.

Suzie sighed and kicked her legs up on top the table. “And if you’re lookin’ for ‘ganic ass, you talk to me. You hurt one of ‘em, we hurt you. Plain and simple.”

It was if they got told they blew up the fucking moon.

“Well, um— I think.”

“I have a Misty! I mean I’m Misty’s— I’m in a relationship!”

“I thought your services were _drinks?”_ Tweedledum looked around. “Isn’t this a bar?”

Judy frowned, these guys were a waste of precious sit around and do-nothing time. “Don’t play fucking stupid.”

“Hey! We’re not stupid! V, tell ‘em!”

‘V’ turned towards him with wide eyes and started to speak through her teeth as if telling him a secret. “I think we’re stupid, Jackie.”

Suzie was frowning. “Did you even read the brief?”

Evelyn, who had lost interest quite record-breakingly fast, seemed to try to salvage whatever they had.

“Look, the job. You doin’ it or what?”

They both looked at each other and V simply shrugged. Jackie turned back to Suzie. “Can it be for drinks?”

Suzie seemed a bit relieved— Judy watched as the tension left her face, she never liked pawning off any of the workers.

“Two months, no charge.”

Jackie’s leg bounced slightly. “Make it three, V’s a lightweight anyway.”

“Hey!”

Suzie narrowed her eyes before sighing. “Sure.”

V’s shoulders relaxed. “Preem, we’ll update you in like,” she looked at her watch. “Four hours? Depends on traffic, honestly.”

Suzie tensed up again. “Four hours? What the hell is this? Is this supposed to be some type of fuckin’ prank?”

V looked startled. “Uh, no?”

Judy crossed her arms and the motion must have caught V’s attention because her eyes landed on her. She blinked owlishly and looked back to Suzie, but not before doing a millisecond-long double take.

“Alright, whatever. You gonks are obviously gonna get your heads blown off in,” Suzie mimicked V’s earlier action despite not having a watch. “ _Four hours,_ go fuck yourselves.”

She lifted her legs off the table and got up to start walking back to her office.

Jackie’s eyebrows drew together as he ducked his head to whisper with V.

Suzie looked over her shoulder. “And if not, call on the holo. Now get out, I got shit to do.”

* * *

Judy rested her elbows on the bar. She probably had one or two minutes that needing cleaning up in the current BD she was working on. Maybe if she lifted some audio from the last—

“Shit, they’re not coming back, that’s for sure.”

Judy turned her heard toward Evelyn. “And why exactly is that?”

Evelyn pursed her lips. “Suzie wanted to knock down the Tyger Claws a few pegs.” She flicked her lighter a few times in contemplation. “A lost cause, if you ask me.”

* * *

It was on the third hour that the majority of the bar’s employees were drifting around the main floor hoping to pick up any updates. Suzie, although she would put a bat to your head if you pointed it out, was pacing in the hallway near her computer, her hands planted loosely on her hips.

Judy herself stuck around the doorway of her basement office while Evelyn laid back in the BD chair, scrolling through her phone.

She eyed Evelyn’s relaxed state. “Don’t you have anything to do today?”

“Nope.” Evelyn was sure to pop the ‘p.’

_“Does this even work?”_

Judy looked toward Evelyn with raised eyebrows.

_“Yes, I just bought it, V.”_

They sluggishly made their way to Suzie’s small impromptu office. Another failed op. At least they didn’t have to pay anyone this time.

_“Where from? The dumpster?”_

Suzie raised an eyebrow from her seat in front of the computer. “I can read you loud and clear.”

Evelyn laughed a little on the side, her head tilted towards Judy’s.

“Look at that, they couldn’t even manage to get killed.”

_“You ready for this? Vodka—on the rocks, ginger beer—"_

“What?”

_“It’s my drink order, Miss Suzie.”_

V rolled her eyes good-naturedly and pushed Jackie out of the frame. Judy noticed a small fresh cut below her left eye. _“We got the intel.”_

Jackie tiled his head to fit in the frame again. _“Yeah, this one chick had mantis blades. Like, how the hell does that work—”_

 _“Wasn’t a problem.”_ V lifted a databank to eyelevel. _“All on here.”_

Suzie leaned back in her chair. “Well, shit.”

_“And uh, sorry ‘bout this but it had a nasty encryption, and I wanted to see If I could crack it in under five minutes—”_

Jackie cut to the chase for her. _“Some real shit on here, Miss Suz.”_ He finished in a sing-song voice.

 _“Uh, we peeked. Just a lil’.”_ V actually looked apologetic.

“Fuck, I don’t care if you puked all over it, get it here when you can.”

Jackie did a little salute to the camera before the screen went blank.

The room around them got eerily quiet.

Evelyn shook her head in amazement. “Shit, I owe Mateo fifty eddies.”

* * *

Judy spotted Jackie and V at the bar the same night. Jackie was gesturing wildly to a man probably too drunk to even understand a word he was saying as V took tiny sips from her drink through a straw. She might as well try to figure out how these fuckups managed to even walk out the door.

“So, tell me about the mantis blade chick.”

V jumped in her seat, thankfully her drink managed to slosh around only a bit.

Judy held out her hand. “Judy.”

“V.”

She rested her side against the bar and tried not to latch onto the fact that V’s hand was somehow smooth as silk. “How’d you guys do it? From what I understood…”

V smiled and swiveled the chair to face her. “A lot of sneaking around. At this rate I’ll have to get knee implants.”

Judy watched as V tapped on the tops of her thighs, which were… nice. If she had to rate them.

“As for the mantis blade chick,” V frowned. “Had to give her system a reset, she clocked us immediately.”

She pointed at the cut on her face. “Lady zoomed around like at fucking lightspeed, I was lucky I could even lock on to hack her.”

Judy tilted her head as V took a sip of her drink. “Didn’t zero her?

V licked her lips. “Huh? No way. This way people think it was just faulty tech.”

“What, too good to kill people?”

“Uh, yeah. I would like to think so.” She said it like it was old news. “It’s kinda a last resort for us.”

Judy laughed. A merc too soft to pull the trigger. “Y’know, you’re different from what I expected.”

“What’d you expect?”

“I don’t know, some gangers stuffin’ grenades down the front of their pants.”

For Judy, it happened in slow motion. V’s lips quirked upwards and her eyes crinkled, she threw her head back to give perhaps the liveliest laugh she’d heard in months. Judy tried to hide her own self-satisfied smile and averted her eyes a little downward so it didn’t seem like she was some gonk just staring at this girl.

V’s laugh died down, but her smile didn’t. “So, whadoya do you here?”

“I edit BDs.”

“Shit, really? That’s cool.” V’s eyebrows pulled together after a moment. “Wait, like smut?”

Judy gave a wry smile. “Yup.”

V’s cheeks went pink and Judy suddenly realized she was already a little too invested.

“That’s, well— still _cool_ , um wow. Ha. Uh—”

Jackie must have picked up their conversation because he turned around and shook V’s shoulder. “V, stop stuttering, we have a _reputation_ to maintain.”

V snorted and rolled her shoulder out of his grip while he reached forward to offer his hand to Judy. “Name’s Jackie.”

“Judy.” His hands were enormous. Calloused. She wondered how these two even fit together.

“Sick tatts, any from Marcus down in Santo Domingo?”

Judy’s eyebrows rose as she looked down her left arm. “This one, actually.”

“Thought it looked like his work! We went to school together.” He frowned. “Well y’know, before the school got shut down ‘cause all the asbestos.”

V cocked her head in question. “There’s schools in Night City?”

Jackie laughed.

* * *

It was three days later when she saw V again at Lizzie’s. Judy decided that making her way over to the bar to talk to her was more important than whatever smut BD that was left unfinished on her desk.

“Here alone?”

V didn’t startle this time and instead gave a nervous smile. “I guess?”

“You guess?”

She ducked her head in embarrassment. “Yeah, this was on my way home.”

Judy nodded. “What district?”

“Watson.”

“Me too, like it?” It wasn’t really a question about Watson rather than about V. Judy already knew Watson was shit, but maybe V hadn’t caught on just yet.

V squinted before taking the straw of her cocktail in her mouth. She shrugged.

“Used to be a Nomad, so. Kinda weird.”

Judy smiled. “Yeah, sorta pegged you as a little green to city life.”

It looked like V tried to pull an offended face but the uptick of her smile and crinkle in her eyes said otherwise. “How?”

“You asked if there were schools in Night City.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hey, still feels like a valid question. I’m sure half these people don’t know children exist here.”

Judy couldn’t argue with that.

“Whatcha drinkin’?” She waved Mateo down and pointed at V’s drink.

V winced. “Dunno? I asked him for whatever had the lowest alcohol content.”

“Don’t drink?”

She raised her hand to give her a ‘so-so’ gesture. “Jackie says I missed out on significant childhood stomach development from the toxic waste they serve here. It’s why I got a weak stomach.”

Judy laughed. “How’d you guys meet?”

“Me an’ Jack?” V smiled. “Jeez, that’s a job I’ll never forget. We smuggled an _iguana.”_

“An iguana? Like a real one?”

V nodded, a smile on her lips.

“Yup, it was literally so gross.”

Judy stirred her drink with the straw and took it out to sip from the rim. She licked her lips with a frown. “V, this is just Spunky Monkey.”

V’s eyebrows came together as she looked down at her drink. “Then why does it taste so bad?”

Snorting, Judy slid her glass further out onto the bar. “’Cause that’s how that shit tastes.”

* * *

V invited her out for lunch on a Tuesday. She was swamped as hell, but V used a smiley face in her text so there was no helping it. They ended up at some diner and V graciously took the booth that looked like it had bloodstains on it.

“So, ‘V’ stand for somethin’?”

V nodded as she finished a bite of her sandwich.

“Valerie.”

Judy had to keep herself from trying it out loud. “Huh, nice name.”

V shrugged. “Yeah, just used V ever since I was a kid, my brother called me that ‘cause I was,” V put her fingers up in air quotes, _“illiterate.”_ She rolled her eyes. “Not anymore, though. I can read _and_ write. I’m a fuckin’ catch.”

“You have a brother?”

“Had. His name was Vincent.”

Judy opened her mouth to apologize but V waved it off before she could even start. “It was a long time ago.”

“Seems confusing, you both having names that start with a V?”

“Uh, yeah.” V laughed. “Whole point in doing it!”

Judy’s foot accidently grazed V’s leg, causing her to flinch horribly and bang the underside of the table with her knee. Their silverware miraculously didn’t fall on the floor.

V gave an apologetic wince. “Sorry, I flinch like crazy sometimes.”

Judy shook her head. “Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

“How ‘bout you? Any siblings?” V used a napkin to wipe up the water that spilled from her glass.

“Nah, only child.”

V nodded and looked out the window while giving a small hum. “It’s weird, isn’t it? How we’ve made it so far.”

Judy followed her eyeline and saw a guy walk straight into a fire hydrant. “I wouldn’t call this _far_.”

Smiling, V took another bite.

* * *

Judy woke up on her apartment’s lumpy as hell couch when she heard her phone chime. She pulled it up to her ear before she could even see who it was.

_“Juddddyyyyy.”_

She pulled the phone back down so she could see the time.

“V? It’s eight in the morning, some people don’t wake up at ungodly hours y’know?”

_“Not important right now! I mean, sorry. But this will be worth it, promise!”_

Judy felt the beginning of a smile on her face. “Okay, what’s goin—”

_“You said you wanted an 860 ARS processor, right? The one with the dedicated graphics?”_

She blinked a few times to catch up with V’s words.

“Uh, yeah? But—”

_“How many you want? Like five?”_

“V, they aren’t even on the market yet.” She rubbed at her eyes before scoffing. “And why would I want _five?”_

_“I dunno, I think I might have a stealing problem to be honest.”_

“You’re _stealing?”_

_“Jackie is too! We’re on a job and these guys have a shit ton of shit.”_

“Who?”

_“ARS.”_

“You broke into the ARS building?” Something that suspiciously felt like fear crept into her stomach.

 _“Mhmm, though we only got access to this wing for the job.”_ V seemed to be contemplating something. _“Althooouuugghh, if you needed something else I’m sure I could find—”_

“V.” Judy was sure she heard an alarm going off on the other end of the call.

_“Yeah?”_

“Five is good.”

_“You sure? I can carry way more—”_

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

_“Okay, call you later, I think Jackie accidently put thermal paste in his mouth.”_

* * *

Everyone was doing this bar crawl for Misty’s birthday. Though it was more of a bar go-next-door because they decided to have it in probably the drunkest part of the city.

It was the fifth bar and Judy kind of overestimated her tolerance. She swayed a little on her barstool.

V tugged at a strap on her overalls to pull her back upright. She was the DCC tonight (designated cab caller, V apparently would never volunteer herself to be a designated _driver.)_

“Judy, if you fall Evelyn will kill me.”

“Yeah?” Judy licked her lips as she purposely let her upper body tilt sideways so V would have to tug harder.

V’s face looked a little red as she pulled Judy closer. Or perhaps it was the neon lighting? Judy wasn’t sure she cared much as this point.

A thought struck her.

“When’s your birthday?”

“I don’t got one.”

Judy blew a raspberry. “Everyone’s got one.”

“I’m not everyone.”

That’s for fucking sure. V’s charm was practically radiating off her. At least, that’s what five-drink-Judy thought.

The logistics started to catch up to her. “How do ya know how old you are?”

V laughed. “I know what year, just not the exact date.”

Judy was pretty sure you _needed_ an exact date for practically everything. Like for bank accounts and shit. Leases _. A driver’s license_. How the hell was V zipping around Night City with no birthday?

This was like… an actual problem.

“Can I give you one?”

V looked shocked at the suggestion. “A birthday?”

Judy gave a quick laugh. “Yeah.”

Shrugging, V gave her an excited look. “Sure.”

She looked around the bar for an idea. Misty’s hair bounced back and forth as she shook her head after a shot. Jackie and a few other people she already forgot the names of were cheering her on.

Her eyes came back to V’s.

“When did we meet?”

V squinted as if in thought. “Suzie’s job…”

Judy watched V’s fingers tap on top of the bar.

“December tenth.”

Judy shook her head as she looked back at V. She felt a little presumptuous making someone’s birthdate hang on the principle of herself.

“When did you first get to Night City?”

She watched as V’s eyebrows pulled together. “What was wrong with December tenth?”

Judy laughed. “Do you really want your birthday to be when you came to Lizzie’s?”

V smiled. “Why not? Met some good friends that day.”

She was going to fucking melt onto the fucking ground at this rate. They would have to mop her up.

“Alright, December tenth it is.”

V mouthed the date back to herself and nodded a few times for good measure. A breaking of a glass broke the two out of their little reverie. Judy looked behind V to find the bartender starting to yell at one of their ‘birthday squad’ members.

Standing quickly, V started to loop their arms together in a panic. “Next bar, Judy!”

Judy looked down to their linked arms, ignoring the way Jackie was trying to gesture everyone out of the bar. “Ugh, when will this end?”

“Not sure, I think that was my job to figure out but I, uh…” V gave her a dazzling smile. “I kinda forgot.”

* * *

She was rewiring her BD chair when Evelyn called.

_“You’ll never guess what happened.”_

Judy gave her a hum as a signal to continue, her mouth was occupied with holding a few stray wires.

 _“There I was, minding my own business outside of Jinguji—”_ Judy knew Evelyn never minded her own business. _“—About to return this absolutely atrocious necklace one of the suits gave me, when I see V across the street.”_

She took the wires out of her mouth, suddenly interested in where this was going.

 _“Being the good friend I am, I wave.”_ Judy heard her scoff on the other end. _“And V starts walking across the street without so much as a_ glance _to see the car that’s about to ram into her.”_

Wait, what?

_“So, she gets hit, and here I am thinking I indirectly killed Judy’s girlfriend. Then she started spouting gibberish!”_

She decided not to comment on the ‘girlfriend’ part. “Ev, what—"

_“Anyway, called a Delamain cab— did you know V gets free rides? Why does she even drive that piece of—"_

“Evelyn!”

 _“Right. I’m at this ripperdoc named Victor Frankenstein or whatever. Underneath this weird_ spiritual _place. I’ll send you the address.”_

“No need, I’ll be there in ten.”

* * *

Vik unlocked the gate to let her in. He nodded to where V was coming to in the operation chair. “Bumped her head just in the right place to disrupt one of her neural implants.”

Judy tried her best not to fidget with her hands. She spotted Evelyn sitting cross legged in one of Vik’s chairs. Her eyes drifted back to Vik. “She’ll be alright, though?”

He nodded with a chuckle. “Alright as she _can_ be.”

A creek of the op chair made her head snap in the direction. V shifted herself up with her elbows.

“Judy.”

“Hey, V.” Her voice came out softer than intended. Evelyn was going to make fun of her for this one.

V frowned. “I didn’t look both ways.”

Evelyn piped up from the back. “You didn’t look at all.”

“Whoops?”

Judy reached forward to ghost her fingers over a scrape on the side of V’s cheek.

“You gotta be more careful.” She practically whispered it.

Swallowing, V’s eyes went as wide as saucers. Her cheeks were tinted pink as she licked her lips.

“Okay.”

* * *

They were working on their respective technical projects in Judy’s apartment when Judy finally thought to pull the trigger. She’d been working on it for a while.

“Wanna try a BD?”

V practically dropped every component she was carrying in from her car. Why the hell did she have so much shit?

Judy watched as V started to pick up some of the more expensive looking ones. She reached for her bag to get the recording. “Relax, it’s an underwater one I made a while ago—”

V started dropping them again.

“ _Underwater?_ How did— who—”

“A _dive_ , V. You know how I got that diving gear?”

V gave up on picking anything up and was now sweeping them in a pile. “Oh, yeah. I thought—”

Judy laughed. “Have you ever tried any kind of BD?”

V nodded, her face pinched as if she was trying to remember something.

Fidgeting with the portable wreath she planned to give V, Judy started to feel a little nervous. “I just ask ‘cause, y’know, some people—”

“My first was this guy robbing a store? Got shot in the head. After that I didn’t really wanna try anymore.”

Judy sat there, a little shocked.

“Who the hell made you watch that?”

V shrugged. “Part of a job. One of those whodunit situations.”

An XBD as her first? Those could really… mess you up.

“I felt really bad ‘cause I threw up on the fixer’s carpet. I didn’t even get the job.”

Okay. There goes the diving BD idea. She looked down at the newly finished portable wreath in her hands, about five seconds from trying to rub off the ‘V,’ she marked on the side.

V seemed to notice her train of thought.

“But I wanna try yours!”

Unlikely. “You sure? I dunno if you—”

“Just diving?”

Judy nodded.

“And I get to feel you, right?”

Oh, how Judy wanted to drive it home and reply with some particularly heavy-handed flirty innuendo, but V had this horrified look on her face like she had just accidentally just shot herself in the foot.

V gave a nervous laugh. “That came out wrong, jeez.”

Blinking, Judy nodded her head again, choosing not to address the slip-up. “Yeah, you get to feel the stuff I felt.”

* * *

“Holy shit, Jude. Why is there so much trash in the water?”

* * *

V and Jackie were burning through jobs like gasoline. Judy noticed V would do a lot of solo stuff at the oddest fucking times. Yesterday she got a selfie from V squatted next to a knocked out scav, her hand in a peace sign. At five in the morning. Not exactly reassuring.

She had half a mind to bring it up in V’s apartment after their afternoon run. (And V was _very_ good at running, somehow looking like a goddess in nothing but a sports bra and sweats. She didn’t even complain when Judy made them go at half her usual speed.)

Judy looked around V’s apartment with her hands on her hips, still trying to even her breathing. V’s bed was made, a telltale sign that she hadn’t slept there in a few days.

“You should probably be sleeping instead of fucking around in gang territory.” It was probably the adrenaline that even let those words leave her mouth.

V shrugged in response. “Just tryin’ to get noticed.”

Judy was sure she could notice V from a mile away. “For what?”

“Bigger jobs.” V squeezed her water bottle into her mouth. Judy did her best not to watch in fascination. This really wasn't the time.

“You mean jobs that’ll get you killed.”

It felt like a weight had left her shoulders when she said it. She’d brought up her distaste for V’s job a couple of times before, but her phrasing didn’t leave a lot of room for interpretation this time.

V waved her off as she grabbed for a towel.

“I mean jobs that _pay.”_

Judy felt herself getting frustrated. She crossed her arms.

“What, is money all that matters?”

That made V pause. “Course not.”

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “Then what the hell are you burning yourself out for?”

V stood there looking dumbly back at Judy, a towel in one hand and her water bottle in the other. They both looked like they were about to fall from her grasp.

“I dunno.” Her voice wavered.

Judy bit the inside of her cheek. That was the most blatant and bullshit lie that V could have said. And V… V could keep her secrets, that was fine. But when they started running V into the ground, that’s when Judy couldn’t take it anymore.

“I gotta go.”

“Wait, Jude—”

“I don’t want to be late.”

She looked back at a shocked V before closing the door. “I’ll see you later.”

* * *

Something went wrong. Besides the fact that she sort of stormed out of V’s place the last time they met up, V hadn’t been answering any of her texts. And V _always_ texted back.

Misty rang her up earlier asking about Jackie and V taking a Voodoo Boys job. Neither of them knew an ounce of info, Misty just so happened to hear Jackie on the phone with V one night prepping for it.

Judy immediately dialed Evelyn. She explained everything (including the fight she had with V), nervously pulling up her legs to her chest as she recounted some of the grittier details of their last conversation.

She heard Evelyn sigh. _“Judy, I think your merc stepped into something she should’ve smelled a mile off.”_

“Meaning?”

_“I like V, she’s great and all, but she’s missing a few wires.”_

“Ev—”

Evelyn cut her off with a stern voice. _“Fixers don’t get jobs from the Voodoo Boys. Period. No exceptions. Whatever they have V doing… It isn’t playing by the rules.”_

Judy had a hard time taking in another breath.

_“Just hope she knows what she got into.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I listening to mitski cause im lgbt or am I lgbt cause I listen to mitski? We may never know…  
> chapter 2 is just ridiculously enormous so strap in i guess. this whole thing was supposed to be <2k so I didn't fiend over it lmao WHOOPS  
> me holding a pic of evelyn: idk i just think she’s neat.

**Author's Note:**

> Titles from: Mitski - Crack Baby


End file.
